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Digital Native & Immigrant to Visitor & Resident

Prensky’s article talks about the connection between computer competency and age. Which talks about how Digital Native and Digital Immigrant are being segregated. In context, Digital Native are people that are born into the digital generation where technology revolves around them. However, not everyone are fortunate to have access to it. While Digital Immigrant are people whom are not born into the digital generation but adopt it into the later part of their life.

David White’s entry discussed about the difference between a digital “visitor” and “resident” and what motivates each individual to use the internet for. Using what David White said – “It’s a continuum of ‘modes of engagement’ not two distinct categories” because everyone can be a visitor and resident whenever we have a different purpose when doing something.

Digital “visitor” is someone that surfs the net with the purpose of attaining a goal which is similar to being a digital immigrant – in a way that they are still learning to adapt to the environment. While a digital “resident” is living a part of their life on the net similar to being a digital native as they live around the computer and communicates on the internet community as well as on their life offline. As David White says: “This visitor, Resident distinction is useful when considering which technologies to provide for online learners”.

Based on David White’s entry, I would consider myself to be both a “visitor” and “resident” because it would depends on what agenda I have on that day. For days whereby I have school, I would use more time on researching about topics, reading articles and check up on emails. After completion of the daily task or on weekends, I would then check up on the internet for the latest buzz and catch up on the social media.

Anyone can be a “visitor” and “resident” on the net as there is no limit to it. An example would be my father who is nearing the age of 55 and still uses Facebook to communicate with his friends and definitely have more photos, comments and likes compared to my social media. Despite being older than me, he is actually really active on social media!

Having analyzed, I have learned that anyone of any age can be a “visitor” and “resident” based on what their purpose of using the net are driven by.

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3 thoughts on “Digital Native & Immigrant to Visitor & Resident”

Thank you for stating your own point of views about Digital Residents and Digital Visitors! You have definitely showed me another point of view in explaining what are the two. Your post is in a very academic point of view which gives me another kind of insight as compared to how i typed it in my blog!

“Anyone of any age can be a “visitor” and “resident” based on what their purpose of using the net are driven by.” This sentence has led me in seeing Visitors in another point of view because i have stated in my blog that usually visitors are born before the technologies became successful. Thank you!

Lastly, the framework you have shared is clear and allowed me to understand better on how to gage someone whether he/she is scaled closer to the resident side or the visitors side.

Good job! Thank you for showing me a different point of view, hope to see more of your posts soon!

First and foremost, thanks for taking the effort to comment on my blog, great to know you have learned something from it. After reading your blogpost, I realised we constructed relatively similar viewpoints on White’s Continuum; distinguishing ourselves as a Visitor or Immigrant based on different phases in life. The only difference was how the way we categorised ourselves; probably, you used it on a daily basis while I used it on yearly basis. Anyway, it was interesting to know that your dad has a higher social residency in comparison with you. Overall, wonderful job on your first blogpost, would definitely be back for more reads.